Naruto: Starting as Tsunade's Desk Mate

Page 64

Chapter 132: The Third War Breaks Out

Every so often, An'an would have the ten best students from each grade in each of the three schools compete against each other, with the competition consisting of a written test and a practical assessment. The winners would receive a trophy and a C or D level ninjutsu from the village.

Students from commoner backgrounds rarely have the opportunity to acquire ninjutsu. For this simple reward of ninjutsu, they compete fiercely and relentlessly. While Anshan was amazed, he felt the immense value of the A-rank ninjutsu that his family had casually taught him.

Four or five years passed in the blink of an eye, and everything changed rapidly. Konoha's overall strength expanded dramatically.

Anzan, Kakashi, and the others have all graduated. Over the years, Obito Uchiha has always wanted to get into Class A and sit with Rin Nohara. Unfortunately, he is not very bright and his written test scores have never reached the threshold for Class A. Fortunately, Rin Nohara comforts him every now and then, otherwise he might have been so anxious that he activated his Sharingan.

An Yan had no intention of breaking up the couple, so Kakashi's trio's teacher remained Minato Namikaze. Obito Uchiha was very excited about this, while Kakashi was dismissive. Over the years, he and An Yan had been competing against each other, and his strength had reached the threshold of Jonin. Naturally, he looked down on Obito Uchiha, who was a loser.

However, with Nohara Rin mediating the conflict between the two, things didn't escalate too badly. Although it was Minato Namikaze's first time leading a team, he was extremely capable and had great personal charisma, making it easy for him to regulate the team's atmosphere.

After Anshan graduated, An Yan directly arranged for him to join the Anbu, keeping him under his watchful eye to prevent him from being accidentally killed by enemy ninjas. Although he had great faith in Anshan's abilities, there were still cunning figures like Uchiha Madara and Black Zetsu behind the scenes, so it was best to be cautious.

Anzan was very dissatisfied with his father's arrangements, but Anzan naturally had his own reasons. The Third Hokage had done the same thing, and his eldest son, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, was still a squad leader in the Anbu.

Ansan had nothing to say about this and could only helplessly obey his father's orders. After all, his identity was indeed special, and he had to hide himself when his strength was not yet sufficient, otherwise he would be easily targeted. His death was not a big deal, but it would be bad if Konoha suffered a huge loss because of it.

Little Anshan, easily controlled.

While Konoha was developing rapidly, other ninja villages were also following in its footsteps and developing their military strength. There was no way around it; the military strength between countries was basically balanced. As Konoha was developing rapidly, Kumogakure and Iwagakure naturally wouldn't be idle either, and in recent years they also began to engage in militarism.

As for Kirigakure, it has been closed off from the world, almost like a hermit, and its internal situation is unknown. As for Sand Village, it was already difficult enough for them to survive after being punished by the Daimyo of the Land of Wind, let alone expand their strength.

As Konoha's strength grows, the international situation suddenly becomes tense, with a sense of impending doom. A single spark could ignite a war, and everyone is waiting for that opportunity, which is fast approaching.

Sasori is an extremely talented ninja. Ever since his parents were killed by White Fang during a mission when he was young, he has been working hard to learn. His grandmother is Chiyo, and he inherited all of Chiyo's skills. Not only has he mastered puppetry to the highest level, but his medical and poison skills are also terrifyingly strong.

Ever since he accidentally learned that White Fang was in the Land of Wind when he was ten years old, he secretly vowed to cut off White Fang's head to pay tribute to his parents. He prepared for this for five whole years. He even secretly killed his own shadow and made him into a human puppet to enhance his own strength.

However, before Sasori could even approach Konoha's White Fang, the Sand Village erupted. During the time Sasori was creating the puppet, the Sand Village, which had been struggling financially, couldn't get the Fourth Kazekage's sand gold. So they directly suspected that the Kazekage had been murdered, and the most likely person to do this was undoubtedly the White Fang of Konoha.

The Sand Ninja surrounded Konoha's base in the Land of Wind and confronted Sakumo Hatake directly. Konoha was now powerful, and the Sand Ninja did not dare to make a direct move, but instead threatened Konoha and demanded an explanation.

Now that Konoha has been working on greening the Land of Wind for so long, it has achieved remarkable results and is widely trusted by the villagers near the capital of the Land of Wind. Seeing that Konoha is being treated this way, they immediately started to make a fuss. The Sand Ninja were surrounded by Konoha ninjas while being pointed at and gossiped about by the civilians, and their morale was immediately hit hard.

At the same time, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind stepped forward, directly supporting Konoha and demanding that the Sand Ninja leave. This demand angered the Sand Ninja, but the twisted relationship between the Daimyo and the ninja over thousands of years meant that the ninja would not directly oppose the Daimyo.

However, the Sand Village ninja, quick-witted as ever, immediately shouted the slogan: "The evil Konoha ninja have used genjutsu to control my Daimyo of the Land of Wind."

Konoha wanted to use a strategy of controlling the emperor to command the other lords, but the Sand Village directly called for the removal of corrupt officials from the court.

With Hatake Sakumo's temper, would he tolerate such an injustice? Besides, Konoha already had contingency plans for this situation, so he directly led the Daimyo of the Land of Wind and thirty Konoha companions to break through the Sand Village's encirclement.

Konoha's individual flying devices had appeared long ago, but the other ninja villages didn't pay attention to them. To this day, not many ninja villages have made something similar. They were caught off guard and ran away completely, leaving only the Sand Ninja looking at each other in bewilderment.

The Sand Ninja leader was Pakura, who used the Scorching Release technique. She looked at the bewildered crowd and snapped, "What are you all standing there for? Chase them!"

Since things have come to this, we might as well wipe out all these Konoha ninjas in front of us, which would also deplete Konoha's manpower.

Upon hearing Yekura's words, many Sand Ninja instinctively scratched their heads. How could they chase something that was flying in the sky? But since Yekura had given the order, they could only run and pursue it on the ground.

As soon as the Sand Ninja surrounded the Konoha camp, An Yan immediately received the news. He immediately ordered Minato Namikaze to lead two thousand ninjas to the border of the Land of Fire to meet Sakumo Hatake and the others.

At this moment, Minato Namikaze had only been married for a short time, and his wife, Kushina Uzumaki, was heavily pregnant. He really didn't want to go out, but with war about to break out in the ninja world, no one could stay out of it.

The Sand Ninja ultimately failed to catch up with Hatake Sakumo and his group; the flying vehicle was still too unreliable. As a result, Hatake Sakumo and Namikaze Minato's two groups successfully met at the border of the Land of Fire, and then the Daimyo of the Land of Wind was escorted to Konoha Village by the Anbu ninja.

The land of rivers has once again become a battlefield between the states of wind and fire. This is always the case for small countries; once a major power goes to war, they naturally become the battleground.

Chapter 133 Actions from all parties

An Yan received the Daimyo of the Land of Wind with the highest honors. The two had a cordial and friendly exchange, and afterwards the Daimyo of the Land of Wind was accommodated in a high-class hotel in Konoha Village and treated to the best food and drink.

Then, a message spread throughout the ninja world: the Sand Ninja were plotting a rebellion, intending to kill the Daimyo of the Land of Wind, but were fortunately helped by the Konoha ninja to escape to the Land of Fire. Now the Daimyo is demanding that all Daimyo in the entire ninja world unite to jointly punish the rebels.

This explosive news shocked the entire ninja world, causing a huge uproar.

At first, there were whispers of disbelief, then undercurrents of various forces urgently verifying intelligence, and finally, when the daimyo of the Land of Fire, together with the daimyo of the Land of Wind who had eaten and drunk their fill, issued a proclamation to all the major powers in an official manner, doubt turned into shock, and shock turned into action.

The wind and sand swept across Sunagakure Village.

In the Kazekage's office, high-ranking Sand Ninja were gathered, yet the atmosphere had plummeted to freezing point.

An elder slammed his hand heavily on the conference table.

"This is utterly absurd! This is pure slander! This is an attempt to put our Sand Village in an unjust position! What is the Daimyo thinking? Does he really hate the Sand Village so much?"

Another elder sighed: "Since our founding, the Sand Village has always needed to ask the Daimyo for military expenses, but we have never achieved anything in foreign wars. No wonder the Daimyo has always been unhappy with us."

"But if the Daimyo does this, he might give other ninja villages an excuse to attack Sunagakure. If things go wrong, Sunagakure might just be wiped out."

"It's too late to talk about these things now. The most important thing is to elect the Fifth Kazekage first. The entire Sand Village is leaderless right now, and this won't do."

After some discussion, the elders decided to select Pakura, who uses the Scorching Release technique, as the Fifth Kazekage. There were very few talented people in the Sand Village, and there was only one candidate at the moment, so they had no other choice. Pakura had competed with the Fourth Kazekage for the position before, and her strength was quite good, but she lost because Rasa could provide economic support to the village.

Kumogakure, the Hidden Cloud Village in the Land of Lightning.

The Fourth Raikage punched through the office wall with a single punch, and he angrily exclaimed, "How dare the Sand Ninja do this!"

Raikage's angry voice echoed throughout the office. As a member of the Yotsuki clan, he was of noble birth, and the Daimyo of the Moon Kingdom had always been a member of the Yotsuki clan. Naturally, he stood on the side of the nobles and represented the interests of the Daimyo class.

Secretary Mabui calmly analyzed, "Lord Raikage, there are many suspicious points in this matter. It's impossible for the Sand Village to suddenly do something so outrageous. This matter is of great importance and we must make a careful decision."

"Would the Daimyo joke about something like this?" the Fourth Raikage roared. "Whether it's true or not, the Cloud Ninja must immediately prepare for battle, deploy troops on the border, and be ready to attack the Sand Ninja at any time. We must take the initiative and strive to gain the greatest benefit."

At the Raikage's command, the entire Hidden Cloud Village sprang into action.

Meanwhile, in Iwagakure Village.

The cunning Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, floated in mid-air, stroking his beard.

"Hmph, those brats from Sunagakure have really stirred up a hornet's nest." He sneered. "But, the timing is too coincidental for the Daimyo of the Land of Wind to receive help from Konoha."

Huang Tu asked from the side, "Old man, what should we do?"

"What should we do?" Onoki's eyes flashed with a sharp light. He pondered, "First, issue a statement strongly condemning Sunagakure's actions and supporting all decisions made by the Daimyo of the Wind and Fire Kingdoms. But at the same time, we should remain still and let the other villages wear each other down. Also, we should tell the Daimyo that Iwagakure needs to prepare for a possible Third Shinobi World War and requires more military funds."

Two days later, Onoki, a cunning and calculating man, planned to sit back and watch the two fight, waiting for an opportunity to profit.

Konoha directly engaged in battle with the Sand Village. Although only two thousand ninjas were dispatched, they were the most elite troops in Konoha. Not only were they all proficient in aerial combat tactics, but a large number of ninjas also piloted six- or seven-meter-tall steel titans, charging forward and sweeping all before them.

Before Konoha's White Fang and Minato, who were stationed at the border, could even make a move, the Sand Village ninja were utterly routed.

If this war hadn't been aimed at Sunagakure, the Sand Village might have surrendered again. However, when the Sand Village's front lines couldn't hold out, they sent envoys to the other three countries.

The Sand Village's propaganda about the threat from Konoha, with phrases like "our present is your future," did have some effect, but only a little.

After all, the Sand Village ninjas are not currently acting out of a sense of duty, but the Iwa, Kirigakure, and Kumogakure ninjas have all decided that they cannot let Konoha run rampant. The two sides have only been fighting for a week, and the Konoha ninjas are already almost at the doorstep of the Sand Village, which is quite frightening to them.

However, directly attacking Konoha would displease the daimyo of various countries. Konoha is currently helping the daimyo of the Land of Wind vent his anger. What do you mean by attacking Konoha? Do you also intend to rebel?

However, there are still many clever people in this world. It's not good to fight Konoha alone, so why not fight them both at once?

The reason is very simple: Konoha is too strong and needs to be weakened.

The Cloud Ninja launched the first attack, splitting into two groups to directly attack the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire. The Sand Ninja were already struggling to deal with Konoha, let alone with the Cloud Ninja joining the fray. The Land of Wind's front was forced to retreat again and again, and the Sand Ninja were almost driven to despair.

At the critical moment, Granny Chiyo and Ebizo, who had been living in seclusion for a long time, stepped forward and withstood the attack from the Cloud Ninja. However, soon after, the Iwa Ninja also sent troops to the Land of Wind, and the Sand Ninja was suddenly attacked from three sides and could not defend itself.

Faced with a life-or-death crisis for the Sand Ninja, at the critical moment, Sasori, the grandson of Granny Chiyo, stepped forward and single-handedly controlled hundreds of puppets, restraining most of the Iwa Ninja's top fighters.

However, misfortune never comes singly. When the battlefield reached a stalemate, the Mist Ninja also joined the battle. Although they were always good at naval warfare, their fighting strength was greatly reduced in the desert. However, what they were meant to do was not to be the main force of output, but to be the last straw that broke the camel's back.

As expected, when the Mist Ninja entered the fray, the Sand Ninja's defensive line immediately collapsed completely, and the troops from various countries pushed straight to the entrance of the Sand Village.

The Sand Village was facing a life-or-death crisis. At the Fifth Kazekage Pakura's command, all the Sand Village ninja, regardless of age or gender, who knew how to use chakra, picked up their weapons and stood around the village.

Seeing the sorrowful expressions on the faces of the Sand Ninja, Minato felt a pang of pity.

Hatake Sakumo, who was standing to the side, noticed that Minato was softening his heart. He patted Minato on the shoulder and said, "Don't waste your mercy on the enemy. If hatred is not completely severed, it will backfire on you."

Chapter 134 The Demise of the Sand Village

As An Yan's teammate, Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang of Konoha, was more or less influenced by An Yan's values. Concepts such as "cut the weeds and wipe them out at the root" and "a family should be kept in harmony" were deeply ingrained in him.

Faced with the siege of the four great ninja villages, the Sand Village unleashed their ultimate trump card: the tailed beast, Shukaku.

The price was the death of Gaara, a child who had just become a Jinchūriki. However, his father, the Fourth Kazekage, had already disappeared, and his mother died young due to complications during childbirth. With no one to protect Gaara, he became the sacrifice.

After Shukaku was released, it did not face Konoha first, since the idea that Wood Release was effective against tailed beasts was still widely circulated at that time. Instead, it faced the Mist Ninja forces.

As the final straw that broke the camel's back, the Mist Ninja are the most hated.

The massive One-Tailed Beast was released, facing the main force of the Mist Ninja. Shukaku, now free, shrieked, "Finally free! You wretched ninjas, die!!!"

Shukaku, the One-Tailed Beast, had spent many years with its previous Jinchūriki, the monk Bunpuku, and had been deeply influenced by Buddhist teachings. The two had developed a bond of affection. Seeing that Sunagakure was about to be destroyed, Shukaku instinctively attacked the opposing forces.

A wide-range Wind Release: Sky-Piercing Bullet struck, causing casualties among the Mist Ninja. Immediately, one of the Mist Ninja stepped forward and confronted the One-Tailed Beast directly. It was none other than the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura.

At this time, due to Konoha's strength, Kirigakure did not cause any trouble, so there was no famous scene of Kakashi's heart-piercing attack. Due to the butterfly effect, Yagura became the Three-Tails Jinchuriki ahead of schedule and mastered the power of the Tailed Beast.

On the western battlefield of Sunagakure, Shukaku, the One-Tailed Beast, and Yagura were locked in a fierce and chaotic battle.

On the northern battlefield, the Fourth Raikage A and the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki Killer Bee worked together seamlessly, wreaking havoc on the battlefield and causing chaos among the Sand Ninja.

To the east, the Fourth Tsuchikage, Kyoto, led a large number of elite Iwa ninja, employing various Earth Release techniques to steadily advance the battle line.

To the south, the Konoha ninja, under the cover of the Vanguard Titans, were locked in a fierce battle with the Sand Ninja's puppet forces. The puppets, made of iron or wood, were almost completely overwhelmed by the steel Titans.

The Fifth Kazekage, Yekura, died on the spot, followed by Chiyo and Ebizo, and then many well-known and unknown Sand Ninja.

Minato Namikaze stormed into Sunagakure first and looted all the secret technique scrolls treasured by the Sand Village ninja.

Ninjas from various countries stormed into the village, killing those who resisted in the Sand Village, seizing money and scrolls, and even fighting among themselves over the loot. The Sand Village was filled with the sounds of battle.

A day and a night later, Sunagakure was destroyed.

Seeing that he had the upper hand, Hatake Sakumo ordered the main force to retreat, but instead of retreating towards the Land of Fire, he retreated to the vicinity of the capital of the Land of Wind and continued to be stationed in the territory designated by the Daimyo for Konoha to live in.

Afterwards, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind was escorted back to the Land of Wind by the Konoha ninja. There, the Daimyo discovered something: "My country is indeed doing well in terms of environmental development, but it seems that I no longer have an army to protect me."

The ninja from Kirigakure, Iwagakure, and Kumogakure were plundering wealth across the Land of Wind, and without the suppression of the ninja from Sunagakure, the number of bandits and outlaws was rapidly increasing, which made the Daimyo of the Land of Wind feel very uneasy.

However, when he saw that the Konoha ninjas had not harmed the Land of Wind at all, he suddenly slapped his forehead and immediately came up with a good idea.

Konoha ninjas are so skilled at urban construction and even landscaping projects, why don't I just set up a Konoha branch in the Land of Wind? But I should consult the Daimyo of the Land of Fire about this, since Konoha is the military powerhouse of the Land of Fire after all.

The daimyo of the Land of Wind immediately called the daimyo of the Land of Fire to ask for his opinion.

What objection could the daimyo of the Land of Fire possibly have? Of course, he agreed. He had initially thought that the daimyo's influence was strong, given the scale of the operation, so he had some other ideas. But before he could take any action, An Yan met with him privately and treated the daimyo to a long-awaited roller coaster ride.

The daimyo of the Land of Fire immediately became obedient and gave up all his thoughts.